Kalia-dewdrop: Kalia is Hawaiian for "Beauty" and Dewdrop represents how the ends of my coils look when kissed with water and together it reads "Beautiful-Dewdrop". This is my natural hair journey: a time of change, growth, womanhood, love, and embracing what God has blessed me with. Welcome! A woman's hair is her crown & glory for it has been given to her as a covering. {1 Cor. 11:15}

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May 25, 2009

One lock is free!

Yes, that's right. I picked out one of my locks because I was venturing through too many loose napp albums and I was curious about my hair texture again, especially now since I found out that i'm a cnapp. (Cnapps aren’t shiny, wavy or curly....they coil and zig-zag individually...they look like a fuzzy, wuzzy cottony cloud of undefined naps…or thick wool). I also miss my loose napps a little bit and wanted to play in them so I thought that it wouldn't hurt to undo just one lock. (Top) This pic. shows how long my hair has grown and it's two strand twisted. (Left) This pic. shows a comparison in length between my loose napps and another lock. (Right) This pic. shows how much shedded hair came from just that one lock, my goodness that's a lot of hair for 2.5 yrs. in my opinion. I spent the past few days playing in my loose napps and i'm amazed at how soft this unlocked portion of my hair is! Maybe my nutrition and water intake have contributed to my hair's health because I don't really condition my locks. Part of me is really curious about how my hair would look if I took all my locks down and experimented with various styles at this length. ~Guess what? I showed my dad and he was amazed at the length. Of course he proceeded to ask if I would change this 'rasta look' and press or perm my hair again 'just for fun' (I guess he didn't realize that a perm was permanent). That's when the flood gates opened and I began telling him about how unhealthy perms were to our hair and broke down the information to a science. He was so amazed at how knowledgeable I was about our hair (thanks NP) and even agreed with me that these chemicals were bad for our hair texture and forbid me to use them ever again.......(um, you're about 20+ years late in telling me that dad)......but I could appreciate the fact that he finally understood my reasons for not perming my hair through my eyes for once, and I feel like I had made a breakthrough. Of course my dad doesn't understand the science behind black hair care, just as long as it looks good is all that matters to him.~Anyway, I have contemplated taking down my locks just because I miss my twists and puffs. I locked for many reasons, but one of the major reasons is because once my hair reached 12", I didn't know how to really work with this length and I had difficulty finding cnapp albums with hair care regimens for longer lengths. Through this cnapp forum that i've joined, I found information about how to properly work with my texture. Before all of this, it was difficult for me to find nappy hair twin albums and gather the necessary information required to work with my texture, especially when I first became napptural. (As a newbie 6 yrs. ago, I thought nappy was universal and boy was I in for a rude awakening when I discovered that there were different nappy textures and that being a 4b or what I call nappiest of nappy 4Z, my hair/styles would never look like people with looser coils/curls etc). I've never cared about the hair-typing system because I didn't feel like it applied to me or that my napps fit in any of the categories except for one: nappiest of nappy. There are different types of nappy textures and it was challenging looking at a non-cnapp album of beautiful twists with sheen that laid down properly for example, and realizing that my twists looked like yarn and stuck out everywhere. I came across very few cnapp hair-twin albums as a loose nappy, so I kind of had to figure it out on my own. I like my locks because of how they look, they're easy to maintain and they've matured so beautifully. However, I can't help but wonder about my loose napps sometimes and it is tempting. It's funny how i've reached a place of contentment with my locks and now I feel like doing something completely different. Ha! I guess i'll keep my locks for now because I went through so much trouble to have them in the first place. With time things may change, but who knows? We'll see. Ok, I got everything off my chest so I feel better now. What are your thoughts?

21 comments:

My thoughts are to do what works for you girl. I have been natural and wore my loose naps for about 5 years before trying to lock a few years ago. I tried with coils and then stopped after 5 months because I missed my loose napps and didn't like the size of the locks. Then I wore it loose for a bit longer and then tried to do locs again for about 7 months and then stopped again because I found another loose napp site and got some great tips so wanted to try it again. After trying, I just got so tired of doing it to keep it fresh. It was such a chore. I then decided to go with braidlocz about 7 months ago and I am loving this now. I do feel like its right for me now and I have no regrets and don't miss my loose napps anymore. I can always wear a wig if i want a loose style, but my locz are in for this period in my life.

I am saying all of this to say do what is right for this period in your life. only you know what would work best for you, so go for it girl. You will look great either way.

Kalia, I agree with Serving Christ, your locks are so beautiful right now, if you really like them keep them. You don't have to have them forever, and when you're ready to take them down, you will still have that same beautiful nappy texture in your hair. That's never going to go anywhere it's your hair. And it's only hair, you can go back and forth between loose and locks and no matter what it will still be natural and beautiful. Don't give up on your locks just yet, they're an inspriation to all sisterlockers waiting to get to that point!

Girl, you are young! Do you! You will be just as lovely with your loose hair than locked hair!

I`am at a point of my life that locs work for me. I love that I do not have to fuss with my hair as I did when I was permed. I have time to do other things that are more important than spending hrs trying to keep it tame. I have no desire to ever be loose again, but I had 46 1/2yrs to play with it :)

If you desire loose napps then go for it! it will not undermine what you have already did for the locked community!

I will certainly miss your locks if you were to unravel. However as somebody who has been locked 3 times, you won't hear me objecting! Experimenting and variety are the spices of life. Your hair is beautiful locked or unlocked. The length is definitely astounding too. :)

Keep teachin' us how to care for our hair at whatever point one might be on this journey of natural hair care.

You've been very involved in your own hair care for some time now. I trust you know what is indeed best for you... keep sharing your experiences... whatever you do... keep blogging! Realize it or not... you give the masses much to think about.

Thanks for the encouragement. It's good to know that I have some options. I would feel like i've given up if I take down my locks now, but it's good to know that I have this option at any time. I want to continue inspiring people and experiment with some more styles.

I think it's perfectly natural (no pun intended) to want to experiment with your hair, your career, your life. Isn't that what living is all about. If we remained defined by one thing, then we would limit our ability to improve who we are. Your hair is gorgeous loc'ed and will remain that way no matter how you choose to wear it. I say, enjoy the ride.

Hello i am new on this site and have been searching and i ran across you ms. dewdrop and have been loving the process of your locks(i have only been sistalocked for 6mths and i love it). Watching your stages keep me encouraged and excited, but if you decide to unravel that would be great too to see what you will come up with with your hair unraveled. Since i already know how flawless sistalock can get. So do you because you do it well and keep us posted pleeease. Blessings and love to you!!!!

I am new to the SL's 7 weeks...I'm glad to know that you can take it out if you choose to and still have the length. I'm wondering though, if your hair is going to thin out from the damage of combing it out, and break off so much at the ends that you'll end up having to cut it shorter then what it is for it to be healthy...thus losing the length that took you 6 years to grow, unless you hair naturally grow's long without loc's then I guess you have no worry's. You should do it and be the guinee pig for those that are thinking the same way as you. I think it's been implanted in our brains so much and we see it sooo much that we just can't truely get away from imagining and seeing ourselves with long, flowy, hair that you can run your fingers through without it getting stuck....lol!!

Of course I'd be very sad to see the locs go, but after seeing so many people end up taking down their locs anyway, I understand the decision and think if that's what you truly want to do then go for it! I'll still stalk your blog! =) lol! I know I basically loc'd because loose hair will never be something that I can handle although I do miss conditioning my hair the way I used to along with combing my hair. I think I'm way too lazy to take mine down though! lol! Keep me posted if you do take them down! I'd love to see your growth and how you style your hair loose!!! =D

@souultry: Welcome to blogging and congrats on your new set of locks. If you would like to follow my blog, then you'll find a "follow" button on the side bar of my page. This way it will be easier for you to track my updates.

@NaDiva: Congrats on your new set of SLs. I've been natural for 6 years, but big chopped twice, so all this length that your seeing is 4 years of growth without trimming. I've taken down other sets of locks in the past without using a comb and didn't encounter any breakage, but there was a lot of shedded hair. If I took down my locks, then I would use what has worked for me before...my water spritz and a push pin. When I took down this one lock, I only encountered shedded hair. My hair is very strong and very resilient and I never had to deal with breakage at the ends either. I was already a guinea pig when I took down my 2nd set of SLs and you'll find those pics. near the beginning of my blog. Length is not an issue for me as much as health is just because my hair grows pretty fast, however, I understand what you mean.

@***SL***: Thanks so much for the support sis. I just don't feel like tightening my roots right now because it has become more of chore than something relaxing. I'm still trying to decide what to do, take them down, combine, semi-free form? Who knows. ;-)

Step away from the loose-hair albums!! There used to be a regular on NP - Honeychild (from Oyin). Loved her hair. I'd stalk her album all the time. She also had picture of how she unravelled her locs so after about 3 months I really started to fall in love with loose hair and undid my locs. 4 Months later, I was sick of all the work required to keep loose hair looking good so I locked up again through braidlocs. I then started hearing about Sisterlocs and how you could get a similiar look with very thin braidlocs. I doubt there's a sisterlocs consultant in South Africa so after a lot of research, I took out my second set of locs because I liked the thinner locs more. I waited about 6 months this time around before I started my own braidlocs. I'm now at peace with my locs (for now :)) In the past 6 months I've had them in braids on & off for 4 months so it gives me a nice break from the boredom of seeing my locs everyday. Each time I get loose-hair envy, I just think back to the times when my hair was loose and the envy dissipates into just plain old appreciation. I also know that even if I has to undo this set, I'll keep going back to locs, so the though of walking around with started locs that unravel and slip for at least 8 months puts me off the longing for loose hair. Once in a while I still get major 'fro envy and sometimes even long for straight har, but the hassle of it is just not worth it. Plus, taking 3 months each time I undid my locs is another put-off :)

BTW - I stalk your site all the time. When my hair grows up, I want it to look just like yours. I love how you keep trying new things and let us know what works and doesn't.

@Lebone: Thanks for sharing your experiences because it's good to know that there are others who've felt the same way. I'm happy for you on your braidlocking journey and I will continue to keep trying new things. Thanks for the encouragement!

At times I miss my loose hair as well, then I think back to all the drama that came with it. My main issue is I don't know how to style hair, which in essence is why Sisterlocks are perfect for me...hehe!

Regardless of your choice...your blog is an extreme inspiration. I think I've been reading your blog since it's conception and it's amazing! Just keep doing what you're doing. If you decide to take your locs down so be it but your blog will always be awesome! I can't even imagine all the styles and ideas you would come up with if you took them down...woah!

Nappy Affirmations

What I love most about you and your blog is your courage to "do YOU". Whatever is best for YOUR locks. You pave your own path and make your way to do what works for you. That encourages me!! ~Felicia

A woman's hair is her crown & glory for it has been given to her as a covering. ~1 Cor. 11:15

Thank you so much! God bless you for what you are doing. It may not seem big, but being able to provide information as well as you do is truly a blessing to us all! ~Teachus1No matter how you choose to wear your hair, you wear it with﻿ elegance, style and grace. You're such an inspiration, not only for your beautiful hair but also for your helpful tips and graceful, enthusiastic and caring demeanor. ~EmpressNatiLocs